Leonid Kravchuk | president of Ukraine | Britannica.com president of Ukraine Alternative Title: Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk Leonid Kravchuk Lev Kamenev Leonid Kravchuk, in full Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk (born January 10, 1934, Żytyń Wielki, Poland [now Velykyi Zhytyn, Ukraine]), president of Ukraine from 1991 to 1994. For 30 years a Communist Party functionary, he converted to nationalist politics after the collapse of the Soviet regime. He was the first democratically elected president of Ukraine. In 1958 Kravchuk graduated from the Kiev T.H. Shevchenko State University and joined the Communist Party. He taught political economics in Chernivtsi and began a political career, rising in the 1980s to top posts in the propaganda and ideology departments for Ukraine. He became chairman of the Ukrainian Supreme Soviet in July 1990, and as such he soon became the effective leader of the republic.

As the central government in Moscow grew weaker, Kravchuk began to warm to the Ukrainian independence movement. After the failure of the coup attempt by Soviet Communist hardliners in August 1991, he expressed unqualified support for independence. He was elected president in December 1991 but lost reelection to Leonid Kuchma in July 1994. Learn More in these related articles: 2 References found in Britannica Articles Assorted References history of Ukraine (in Ukraine: Parliamentary democracy ) External Links Corrections? Updates? Help us improve this article! Contact our editors with your feedback. MEDIA FOR: You have successfully emailed this. Error when sending the email. Try again later. Edit Mode Submit Tips For Editing We welcome suggested improvements to any of our articles. You can make it easier for us to review and, hopefully, publish your contribution by keeping a few points in mind. Encyclopædia Britannica articles are written in a neutral objective tone for a general audience. You may find it helpful to search within the site to see how similar or related subjects are covered. Any text you add should be original, not copied from other sources.

At the bottom of the article, feel free to list any sources that support your changes, so that we can fully understand their context. (Internet URLs are the best.) Your contribution may be further edited by our staff, and its publication is subject to our final approval. Unfortunately, our editorial approach may not be able to accommodate all contributions. Submit Thank You for Your Contribution! Our editors will review what you've submitted, and if it meets our criteria, we'll add it to the article. Please note that our editors may make some formatting changes or correct spelling or grammatical errors, and may also contact you if any clarifications are needed. Uh Oh There was a problem with your submission. Please try again later. Close Date Published: December 30, 2014 URL: Access Date: January 20, 2017 Share 1991-1994 - President Leonid M. Kravchuk Further Reading 1991-1994 - President Leonid M. Kravchuk Following free elections held on December 1, 1991, Leonid M.

Kravchuk, former Chairman of the Ukrainian Supreme Soviet, was elected president for a five-year term. At the same time, a referendum on independence was approved by more than 90% of the voters. Political groupings in Ukraine included former communists, socialists, agrarians, nationalists and various centrist and independent forces. The durability and effectiveness of a new post-Soviet commmonwealth depended heavily on under strong pressure from nationalist forces to pursue independence. Before the election, Kravchuk looked for opportunities to demonstrate his commitment to protecting Ukrainian sovereignty, even if it meant publicly supporting withdrawal from the "10 + 1" process and going for complete independence. In 1990ï¿½1991 Kravchuk had been a Member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, head of Verkhovna Rada of Ukrainian SSR, of Ukraine. MP of Verkhovna Rada of Ukrainian SSR of 10th- 11th convocations, MP of Ukraine of 12th (1st) convocation.

Between 1970 and 1988 he was head of the sector, inspector, assistant secretary of the Central Committee, deputy head of the division, head of the division of agitation and propaganda of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine. In 1988ï¿½1990 he had served as head of ideological division, secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, second secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine. In 1989ï¿½1990 he was a candidate member of the Politburo. In August 1990 he announced his withdrawal from the ranks of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The presidential election on 01 December 1991 in Ukraine spawned a heated race between parliamentary chairman Leonid Kravchuk and his nationalist opponents. Kravchuk was the front-runner. Although tainted by his Communist past and his perceived indecisiveness during the coup attempt, his strengths as a consensus builder and astute politician kept his position strong, and he won a landslide victory.

Moreover, his vision of an independent Ukraine as part of a loose economic association and a collective security arrangement appealled to the majority of the voters. Kravchuk wanted to bridge regional differences between the Russified east and the nationalistic west. Kravchuk had endorsed economic reform in principle, but he was probably the least marketï¿½orï¿½ented of the seven candidates running for president. He has emphasized the need economicI stabilization over quick marketization and wants liberalized prices and private property to be phased in gradually. The leading challenger, endorsed by the nationalist organization Rukh, was Vyacheslav Chornovil. He and other nationalist candidates supported the goal of complete independence within 18 months. Chornovil expressed reluctance to hand over to Russia nuclear weapons situated on Ukrainian territory. The increasing strength of anti-Communist, separatist sentiment since the coup bolstered Chornovil's prospects, but he and other nationalist candidates, such as Lev Lukyanenko, did not have as much support in the populous eastern and southern Ukraine. Chornovï¿½l, a staunch anticommunist, wanted to destroy the vestiges of a planned economy as soon as possible.

He would undertake a program of rapid privatization based on the slogan ï¿½enrich yourselves." The Soviets believed they had solved the problem of nationalism and ethnic conflict within their multinational state. But nationalism was in fact the gravedigger of the Soviet system. As the center disintegrated and Gorbachev opened up the political process with glasnost (openness), the old communist "barons" in the republics saw the handwriting on the wall and became nationalists; they "first of all attacked the USSR government . . . and subsequently destroyed the USSR." Asked when he decided to secede from the USSR, Ukrainian party boss Leonid Kravchuk replied: "1989." Ukrainian politicians realized that full independence cannot occur overnight. Kravchuk would pursue a more gradual and pragmatic course than would Chornovil, who has called for complete independence within 18 months. Kravchuk is unlikely to backtrack from the pro-independence stance -he took during the election campaign, but he would be more likely than Chornovil to continue a dialogue with other republics on economic and security cooperation.

Kravchuk also would be more inclined to maintain strong tie's with Russia and to try to protect the interests of ethnic Russians living in Ukraine. Kravchuk had deftly kept the Crimean separatist movement at bay, and he had worked closely with Ye1ï¿½tsin to defuse potentially divisive issues in Ukrainï¿½anï¿½Russian relations. After Kravchuk won the presidential election, Ukraine agreed to an associate status in the CIS and continued a measure of cooperation on economic and military issues. Ukraine depended on Russia for imports of crude oil and other energy supplies. Russia and other republics dependheavily on Ukraine for food. Opposition to total independence by Russians, Russified Ukrainians, and other ethnic groups living in Ukraine posed a threat to political stability, raised border issues with Russia, and made bilateral cooperation more difficult. Disagreement over control of military assets on Ukrainian territory intensified. On Dec. 25, 1991, the Soviet Union was dissolved. When it all came unraveled, Ukraine was found a poor country, dirty, shabby, and neglected. People wanted desperately to escape the hopelessness.

With her independence in 1991, Ukraine was faced with the enormous task of building anentire government. Whole ministries had to be established either from scratch or by upgrading existing agencies to cabinet level. Kravchuk intended to establish a strong executive presidency, but he was also committed to transforming the Ukrainian Supreme Soviet into a smaller, more effective professional parliament. Nevertheless, authoritarï¿½anism was far from dead in Ukraine. The former communist party had been weakened but not destroyed, and it is positioning itself to become the defender of those who will suffer the most in a transition to a market economy. Rightï¿½wing antidemocratic alternatives, initially not much of a factor in Ukrainian politics, would also become more politically attractive if economic conditions seriously deteriorate. Ukraine and most of the other former Soviet republics created a loose association called the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to deal with economic and military problems caused by the breakup. While some states saw the Commonwealth as a means of preserving common economic and cultural ties, many Ukrainians viewed the CIS as a temporary association. They feared a commonwealth led by Russia would limit Ukrainian independence.

Ukraine and Russia argued over many issues, including how the Soviet Navy's Black Sea fleet should be divided. In May 1992, Russia's Supreme Soviet voted to declare the Soviet government's 1954 grant of Crimea to Ukraine anillegal act. Ukraine opposed this decision. Ukraine was on an emotional high after achieving independence in 1991. Rich in farmland, coal, and mineral deposits, it had both agriculture and heavy industry, Black Sea ports, proximity to Western Europe, an educated and skilled work force, and a developed infrastructure of scholarly and scientific institutions. With its important contributions to Soviet economic, scientific, and military power, it accounted for 18 percent of Soviet economic output and had the potential to be a strong and viable state. Three years later, however, production had plummeted, inflation had skyrocketed, foreign reserves were negligible, living standards had fallen by half, foreign investment was down, the currency was nearly worthless, and there was no new constitution. Fields were rich with wheat but there were lines for bread in the cities, and there was no clear political mandate for reform. Laws were enforced at times, and at other times not.

There was little confidence in the judiciary, no effective banking system, and no system for judicial review of contractual ob-ligations. Huge industrial behemoths were being kept alive by state subsidies. Privatization had slowed, and most enterprises still belonged to the state, run by former communists who had no incentive to institute reforms or earn profits as long as the subsidies continued. Managers who had made their careers in Moscow were poorly informed about the rest of the world and how to do business there. Energy was imported from Russia at close to world market prices but fuel was being guzzled without regard to cost. Corruption and bribery were rampant, and the mafia was ubiquitous in both government and the private sector. Every transaction with a foreigner seemed to involve a kickback for some intermediary. "It is impossible to do business in Ukraine legally and make a profit," says Walter Kish, Seagram Company's manager in Kyiv. Payoffs were the rule rather than the exception. To clear ship containers through customs it was required to send an employee to the port armed with dollars. The first person' to be paid off was the old woman who controlled access to the customs building.

Payments were then made to other customs employees up the line until all the necessary clearances had been obtained and the containers were released. Elections on 10 July 1994 resulted in a peaceful transfer of power between then president Leonid Kravchuk and the new president Leonid Kuchma, who served as prime minister under Leonid Kravchuk from October 1992. The man who led Ukraine to independence, Leonid M. Kravchuk, was the party secretary in charge of ideology until a few months before the collapse of communism - the very same man who used to denounce the use of the Ukrainian language as 'bourgeoisie nationalism.'" Even though Kravchuk had ties to the former Soviet regime, he sought to strengthen Ukraine's sovereignty and improve relations with the West. Kravchuk stated, "The best guarantee to Ukraine's security would be membership to NATO." The 1994 presidential and parliamentary elections, President Leonid Kravchuk was perceived during the campaign as an advocate of a strong Ukrainian state, while the challenger Leonid Kuchma, by favoring closer ties with Russia and advocating Russian as a second state language, was distrusted by the more patriotic Ukrainians.

During the second round of voting, Kuchma garnered 52.1 percent of the votes compared to 45.1 percent for Kravchuk, but the differences by region were stark. In the five easternoblasts, Kuchma received 75.6 percent of the votes, compared to 21.9 percent for Kravchuk. On the other hand, Kravchuk received 87.4 percent of the votes in the seven oblasts thatbecame a part of the Soviet Union after the war, compared to 10.4 percent for Kuchma. The idea of a strong Ukrainian statehood was obviously much greater among Ukrainians in the westthan in the east. Ukraine's transition to democracy and capitalism was a difficult process marked by success and failure. The successes are many: Ukraine has given up nuclear weapons, peacefully changed power from Leonid Kravchuk to Leonid Kuchma. Ukraine's first elected president, Leonid Kravchuk, always had a romantic following in the Ukrainian diaspora. Many, particularly from the older generation, credited him for Ukraine's achievement of independent statehood, something they never expected to see in their lifetime.

To others, Kravchuk was an old-line Communist who refused to change and nearly drove the economy into ruin. 1994ï¿½1998 he was an MP of Ukraine of 2nd convocation. Member of faction ï¿½Social Market Choiceï¿½, later ï¿½Constitutional Centerï¿½. from 1998ï¿½2002 he was MP of Ukraine of 3rd convocation under the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine lists. Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs with CIS of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Since 2002 he has served as an MP of Ukraine of 4th convocation under the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine lists, member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Head of the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine faction in Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk was born January 10, 1934, Velykyi Zhitin village, Rivne region. His wife Antonina Mykhailivna is an assistant professor at Economics Department of Taras Schevchenko National University.

He has son Oleksandr. In 1958, he was graduated from Taras Schevchenko Kyiv State University, economist, professor of political economy. PhD in Economics. Professor at many national and foreign universities. NEWSLETTER Leonid Kravchuk biography, birth date, birth place and pictures Email Print Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk was president of the Ukraine (1991-1994), the first ever to be elected by direct popular vote and the first president of this newly independent country. Economic pressures led to his defeat in the presidential election of 1994. Leonid Kravchuk was born January 10, 1934, in the village of Velykyi Zhytyn, in the Rivne district into a peasant family. His father died at the front in 1944, during World War II. His mother worked on a collective farm until retirement. Kravchuk completed the Rivne Cooperative Technical School and in 1958 graduated with a diploma from the economics department of Kiev State University.

From 1958 to 1960 he taught courses in political economy at the Chernivtsi Financial Technical School. In 1960 he began his career in the Communist Party of Ukraine, and for 30 years he climbed the party ladder. His first step was appointment as a lecturer in the political education branch of the Chernivtsi Party organization. He later became head of its Department of Agitation and Propaganda. The party organization sent him to study at the Academy of Social Sciences of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in Moscow, and in 1970 he obtained the degree of candidate of sciences. From 1970 to 1989 he worked in Kiev in the apparatus of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, first as head of the sector for the continuing education of party cadres and later as head of the Department of Agitation and Propaganda. From 1989 to 1990 he served as secretary responsible for ideology in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, and in June 1990 he was made a member of the Politburo and briefly served as second secretary of the organization.

In August 1991, in reaction to the (failed) coup in Moscow, Leonid Kravchuk resigned from Communist Party membership. When the process of perestroika began in the U.S.S.R., Leonid Kravchuk occupied an important post in the ideological section of the party. During this period he became famous for his participation in open debates with the leading opposition organization-the People's Movement (widely known as Rukh). Due to this popularity and his active support of the democratization of Ukrainian society, he was regarded as a person representing new political thinking. In 1989 he was elected a member of the Supreme Rada of Ukraine (the parliament) from the electoral district of lampilsk, Vinnytsia region. In 1989-1990 Leonid Kravchuk's main activity concentrated on the problem of reforming the Communist Party. He argued the necessity to create an independent Ukrainian party organization and to transform it into a democratic political party of the parliamentary type. His views did not receive the support of the dominant Communist leadership.

Of his transformation from Communist to nationalist in 1989, Kravchuk has said," I have not come from being a Communist to being a nationalist, but to be more precise, from being a Communist to a democrat. I express the interests of not only Ukrainians but also the interests of Russians, of Jews, of Bulgarians, Hungarians and Rumanians who live in the land of the Ukraine." It was through his activities in Ukraine's Parliament that Leonid Kravchuk emerged as the country's most prominent politician. In July 1990 he was elected as head (speaker) of the Supreme Rada. In that position he demonstrated his skills as a politician of compromise. From 1990 to 1991 Ukraine experienced political and social turmoil: there were numerous strikes and demonstrations accompanying popular demands for democratization and independence. Kravchuk's ability to forge a consensus was instrumental in ensuring a peaceful transition. Ukraine proclaimed independence, the Communist Party of Ukraine was outlawed, and the first measures aimed at democratization and economic reform were made while Kravchuk headed parliament.

During the presidential elections of December 1, 1991, in which six candidates ran for office, moderation and the ability to compromise were important factors contributing to Leonid Kravchuk's decisive victory. He obtained 61.6 percent of votes, which represented some 20 million voters (out of a total population of 52 million). In his inaugural address to parliament on Dec. 5, 1991, Kravchuk declared, "Only a free citizenry can create a free state." The record of Kravchuk's years as president was a mixed one. He proved to be best when confronting the difficult task of state-building. Within a matter of months Ukraine gained international recognition, and all the major institutions of a modern state were created (from an independent armed force to a central bank). He forged ties with other eastern European states and resisted Russia's claims on the Crimea. However, he proved unable to deal with the serious economic and social difficulties, and his administration's record on economic reform in particular was found wanting.

By the end of 1993 his popular rating was at its lowest, and Ukraine's Parliament, at the same time as setting new legislative elections for April 1994, set new presidential elections for July 26, 1994. Leonid Kravchuk stood for reelection, but was defeated by Leonid Kuchma (born 1939), a former manufacturer of missiles. Despite his defeat for reelection, Leonid Kravchuk's place in history is secure: he played a decisive role in Ukraine's road to independence and democratic reform. He and his wife, Antonina, a professor of economics at Taras Shevchenko State University in Kiev, have one son. Leonid Kravchuk biography, Administrative reform, Biography, Personal Leonid Kravchuk : biography January 10, 1934 - Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk ( born January 10, 1934) is a former Ukrainian politician and the first President of Ukraine, who served from December 5, 1991, until his resignation on July 19, 1994.

He is also a former Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada and People's Deputy of Ukraine serving in the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (united) faction. After a political crisis involving the President and the Prime Minister, Kravchuk resigned from the Presidency, but ran for a second term as President in 1994. He was defeated by his former Prime Minister, Leonid Kuchma, who served as President for two terms. After Kravchuk's presidency, he was active in Ukrainian politics, serving as a People's Deputy of Ukraine in the Verkhovna Rada and the leader of Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (united)'s parliamentary group (from 2002 to 2006). He is currently politically inactive. Administrative reform On February 25, 1992 the President of Ukraine, Leonid Kravchuk, issued the Presidential decree 98/92 About the changes in the system of central bodies of executive power of Ukraine. Biography Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk was born in 1934 in the village of Velykyi Zhytyn (Żytyń Wielki) to a peasant family.

At that time the village was located in Aleksandrija gmina, Rowno powiat in Poland. The village became part of Rivne Oblast in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic after the Soviet invasion in 1939 when Kravchuk was a child. His father served in the Polish cavalry in the 1930s, and later he and his wife worked for the local osadniks (Polish colonists). During World War II Kravchuk's father perished on the front-lines. Kravchuk joined the Communist Party of Ukraine in 1958 and rose through the ranks of the party and its agitprop department. He became a member of the Ukrainian Politburo in 1989, and on 23 July 1990 was elected Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, in effect becoming the head of state of the Ukrainian SSR and its most powerful politician. After the 19–21 August 1991 Soviet coup attempt Kravchuk resigned from the Communist Party, and on 24 August 1991 declared Ukraine independent from the USSR.

By doing so he became the first head of state of newly independent Ukraine. Later that year, on 5 December 1991, he was elected to the new position of President of Ukraine after Ukraine's first presidential elections. Personal life Kravchuk is married to Antonina Mykhailivna Kravchuk Oleksandr Leonidovych Kravchuk (son), president of the State Company "Nafkom-Ahro" and the former FC Nafkom Brovary three grandchildren – Andrey, Maria and Ylena Kravchuk, Andrey's daughter. Although Kravchuk does not work for the Ukrainian state anymore he is still living in a state-owned dacha in Koncha-Zaspa., Kyiv Post (May 6, 2009) Political portrait Leonid Kravchuk's political creed is avoiding conflicts and straightforward declaration of his position. He is widely considered to be cunning, diplomatic, and cautious.

He describes himself as a man who refuses to take an umbrella because he hopes to "slip between the raindrops." (in interview by Yulia Lytvynenko at Poza ochi on Inter (Ukraine), 2009) Such diplomacy helped Kravchuk to retain and strengthen his power over Ukraine during the transition from Soviet rule to independence. He was third in command in Ukraine's CPSU leadership before the fall of Soviet Union even though he didn't belong to the ruling Dnipropetrovsk group. He avoided inflexible positions towards democratic changes and was a compromise figure for both party conservatives and reformists. After becoming president of independent Ukraine, Kravchuk achieved and strengthened formal sovereignty of the country and developed its relations with the West. He withstood enormous pressure from Russia and refused to retain the common armed forces and currency inside the Commonwealth of Independent States. The status of the Russian Black Sea Fleet's presence in Sevastopol and the Crimea was not resolved by a 20-year lease agreement until 1997, three years after Kravchuk left office. Another of his stands was the refusal of nuclear weapons based on Ukrainian territory.

He was one of few country leaders who agreed to surrender Ukraine's nuclear arsenal. Ukraine Crisis Could Spark Third World War, Former Communist Party Leader And President Kravchuk Warns Ukraine Crisis Could Spark Third World War, Former Communist Party Leader And President Kravchuk Warns Close This article was corrected on March 14. KIEV — It could be seen as saber rattling, fear-mongering or an astute prediction by a man with intimate knowledge of Ukrainian-Russian history, but Leonid Kravchuk is adamant that Russian President Vladimir Putin has strayed into potentially cataclysmic territory, and that the current showdown in Crimea could escalate into a world war. Related Stories Ukraine: 10 Twitter Accounts To Follow In an interview with International Business Times, Kravchuk, who led Ukraine to independence in 1991 and became its first president, claimed there are already 18,000 Russian soldiers in his country and that a full-scale Russian invasion would cause Western powers – including NATO – to engage them militarily. Former Ukraine President Leonid Kravchuk, sitting in his office in Kiev, discusses his country's ongoing showdown with Russia.

Photo: Anna Pyatetska Sitting in his spacious office in Kiev, surrounded by decades’ worth of Ukrainian mementoes and exquisite amber handicrafts as a motley crew of self-styled defenders awaits in nearby Maidan Square, Kravchuk said he sees disturbing parallels between the current crisis and the outbreak of World War II, when he was a 5-year-old boy whose family lived in the village of Velykyi Zhytyn. Velykyi Zhytyn, now part of Ukraine, was part of Poland until the Nazi invasion in 1939, which sparked the deadliest conflict in human history, and in which Kravchuk’s father died while fighting for the Polish cavalry. He sees the Ukrainian crisis as comparable to the second partition of Poland, and warns of a similar spreading conflict given Russia’s aggressive stance and this week’s announcement that the U.S. would send military aircraft and troops to neighboring Poland. “In case of a full Russian invasion, there is the risk of a third world war,” Kravchuk told IBTimes.

“Ukraine is in the center of Europe; it has a population of 45 million; it has borders with several Western countries; and, of course, if Russia invaded Ukraine and war started, the conflict could spread to neighboring European countries.” He is more convinced than ever of the imminent threat, though his warning is more detailed and less alarmist in tone than his stance in a recent op-ed for the Russian magazine snob.ru, in which he asked, “Does Russia not understand that this is the beginning of World War III?” It's not unusual, of course, for someone to raise the specter of another world war during a geopolitical crisis. Such warnings were first issued soon after the end of World War II, during the Korean War in 1951, and have occasionally cropped up in the decades since, including in 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and during the Bosnia War, from 1992 to 1995, when observers noted that World War I had begun there, in Sarajevo, with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914. But Kravchuk is not generally given to hyperbolic analogies and sensationalism.

He is known as a master practitioner of realpolitik, which allowed him to survive the cutthroat rivalries within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and climb to its highest echelons, and has described himself as someone who tries to “slip through the raindrops” rather than open an umbrella. “Sometimes in politics you can’t move forward in a straight line,” he said with a hearty laugh in his office a few blocks from the Maidan, where the Ukrainian uprising began, and which is now a patchwork encampment of self-defense brigades that range from simple patriots to Cossacks and black-shirted, skinhead ultra-nationalists. Yet even a wily politician can see the potential for major upheaval in the showdown with Russia over Crimea, and Kravchuk’s voice and expression convey stunned incredulity at Putin’s actions, which he sees as a reckless gamble that risks global confrontation.

The current threat, he said, is well understood by European leaders, particularly Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who warned that the world “stands on the brink of conflict, the consequences of which are not foreseen.” The Pentagon, meanwhile, has said it would send 12 F-16 aircraft and 300 U.S. troops to Poland by the end of the week to demonstrate its commitment to defend its allies in the region. With tensions building, Kravchuk said that perhaps Putin “has forgotten in which century he is living -- the century of globalization, and he has forgotten that in Europe there is an organization called NATO, and that this military alliance is led by the United States.” To avert catastrophe, Kravchuk said, “all levers – economic, political, military – must be employed to put pressure on Russia.” The U.S. and Europe also must make clear what kind of assistance will be given to Ukraine, he said. Asked if he believes Western powers will assist Ukraine militarily, at risk of war, he said, “You need to ask that to those Western powers and those organizations – I cannot answer for them.

But if you analyze all the developments regarding Ukraine, I see it’s possible to get their support for our security.” He noted that in addition to the U.S. deployments to Poland, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has warned that Russia must recognize the potential consequences of its actions. “Currently there are 18,000 Russian troops in Ukraine,” Kravchuk said. “There are irregulars, and sleeping cells too, and we don’t know their number… they are mostly operating in Crimea.” Ukraine is strategically positioned between Russia and Europe, which is one reason the current conflict threatens to spill over beyond its borders. The Crimean War in the 1850s was fought between Russia (then ruling Ukraine) and France, Britain and the Ottoman Empire. Throughout its history, Ukraine’s borders have changed many times, with a significant portion of what is now Western Ukraine having been annexed by Soviet forces from Poland in 1939, and formerly Russian Crimea added in 1954. Ukraine existed as a Soviet state until 1991, when it gained its independence as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Kravchuk, who resigned from the Communist Party that year, was Ukraine’s first elected president, serving from 1991 to 1994. He was defeated in his bid for a second term in 1994 but has remained active in Ukrainian politics, having alternatively supported Viktor Yanukovych and rival Yulia Tymoshenko. Many Ukrainians faulted Kravchuk for relinquishing Soviet nuclear weapons that were based in their country, which they now say could have prevented Russian aggression. But Kravchuk dismisses the idea, saying, “I don’t think nuclear weapons would have made a difference. We wouldn’t have been able to use them, as they were controlled from outside Ukraine, and even if we could or wanted to use them, those nuclear heads’ capability expired in 1998 anyway.” If he were the Ukrainian president right now, Kravchuk said, “at all costs I would meet with Putin and would try to persuade him that a Russian war with Ukraine would be a tragedy, not only for our nations.” Because of its geographic location, Ukraine should act as a buffer between Russia and Europe, he said.

“Since we are such a coveted piece of land, we need to observe strict neutrality… something like Finland.” That, he said, would not preclude forging close economic and trade links with both the European Union and Russia. “Ukraine should have a special status; that’s something that can be arranged,” he said. Kravchuk favors a level of autonomy among Ukrainian regions to preserve the nation’s unity, including for Crimea and Western Ukraine. “There shouldn’t be any one region dominating over others,” he said. But he is unwavering in his belief that Ukraine should remain one nation. He has a unique vantage point on the crisis, as a former Ukrainian leader and Communist with long, close ties to Russia. He said he became disillusioned with party politics early on, while a student and Communist Party member in Moscow in 1969, when he claims he was given access to restricted documents in which Russian revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin called for the extermination of Ukrainian peasants and workers.

“Later, in Kiev, I was in charge of the files that documented the Holodomor,” he said, referring by the Ukrainian name to the manmade famine in the early 1930s reputedly orchestrated by Joseph Stalin and Nikita Khrushchev, which caused the deaths of millions of Ukrainians. During his long, eventful life – Kravchuk is now 80 – he survived the Second World War; Stalin’s lingering cult of personality and its eventual repudiation by Khrushchev; Mikhail Gorbachev’s glasnost and perestroika reforms; the Cuban Missile Crisis; and that most incredible event, the collapse of the Soviet Union. “I never expected to see that,” he said of the latter, “and that I would sign its death certificate.” He said that he would have imagined the Soviet Union would collapse only as a result of a catastrophic conflict, with massive bloodshed. Kravchuk, then the president of Ukraine, and his peers – Boris Yeltsin, with the Russian Federation, and Stanislav Shushkevich, with Belarus, signed the Belavezha Accords on Dec. 8, 1991, which effectively dissolved the Soviet Union.

“The Soviet Union came to an end without a single bullet being shot and without a single drop of blood being shed, and I don’t think the world gives that its due credit yet,” Kravchuk said. Given that the Soviet Union collapsed without bloodshed, in contrast to Kravchuk’s own expectations, perhaps he could be expected to be optimistic that diplomacy will prevent a military showdown in Ukraine. And he does hold out hope that the two sides can find common diplomatic ground. But when asked if he is fearful that such efforts will ultimately fail, he first said, “Yes, I fear,” then immediately rephrased his answer. “I don’t fear, but I suffer for what is going on… Ukraine was my child and now Ukraine is giving birth to his own children, which is why I fear what the future may have in store for us… but I don’t fear, I have said I would pick up my own arms and fight for my land…” Asked if he truly expects a world war, he first hedged, then issued a challenge. “I don’t think Putin has completely lost his mind – he is an intelligent person who needs to understand the consequences of his actions,” he said.

But, he added, “If Third World War begins, we will have Nuremberg Trials again, but this time in Moscow.” Featured Articles about Leonid Kravchuk - Page 5 - latimes FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT LEONID KRAVCHUK - PAGE 5 OPINION A Dispute to Stay Away From : Ukraine is worried about Russia, but it's not Washington's problem May 3, 1992 Ukraine, newly independent from Russia after centuries of domination, fears for its future security at the hands of its giant neighbor. President Leonid Kravchuk, who is scheduled to meet with President Bush in Washington this week, says he wants a Western security guarantee, either through Ukrainian membership in NATO or by a unilateral U.S. commitment. Secretary of State James A. Baker III quickly, and rightly, rejected the latter half of that proposal. Advertisement CALIFORNIA | LOCAL Nuclear Decisions in Ukraine : Going one way on tactical weapons and another on nuclear power plants May 11, 1992 Ukraine is a nuclear power. It is also nuclear-powered. On both of those counts, the world has reason to worry about this new state in an old nation.

Last week, progress was made on the first count. Leonid Kravchuk, Ukraine's president, met in Washington with President Bush. He assured Bush that although Ukraine had not yet shipped all its short-range nuclear arms to Russia for dismantling, it would do so by July 1. NEWS Soviet Official Quits Over Economic Plan October 17, 1990 | From United Press International Russian Deputy Prime Minister Grigory Yavlinsky, co-author of the 500-day plan for a transition to a market economy, resigned in protest today because the central government is intent on implementing a more conservative plan. Tass news agency said Yavlinsky announced his resignation to a joint session of the Russian Parliament, saying it is unrealistic to expect the 500-day program to be implemented when Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev and the central government do not support it.

NEWS Bush Sees Ukraine Leader, Offers Hope of Peace Corps September 26, 1991 | JAMES GERSTENZANG, TIMES STAFF WRITER President Bush met with Ukrainian leader Leonid Kravchuk on Wednesday and held out the possibility of a Peace Corps program in the Ukraine as the Administration continued to tread through the minefield of establishing relationships with individual Soviet republics without undermining the fragile central government. NEWS Ukraine's Power Struggle Sparks Crisis Over Reform : Politics: Legislators refuse to accept reformist premier's resignation. They also reject president's bid for control but give him added powers. May 22, 1993 | From Times Wire Services The country was thrown into a constitutional crisis Friday, a day after the prime minister tried to resign and the president tried to take direct charge of government. The Parliament refused to accept Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma's resignation offer of a day earlier and left him in office, although stripped of extra powers he was given last year to introduce rapid privatization and reduce a huge budget deficit.

NEWS Ukrainian President Ousts Reformist Economy Chief July 13, 1992 | CAREY GOLDBERG, TIMES STAFF WRITER In a move that bodes ill for his country's reforms, Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk dumped his radical-minded economics minister over the weekend and replaced him with a former Communist Party official. Kravchuk justified the dismissal by pointing out that outgoing Economics Minister Volodymyr Lanovoi, 39, holds a leadership position in the New Ukraine political movement, which recently announced its opposition to the government. NEWS Ukraine Demands Seat at Any Nuclear Disarmament Talks October 5, 1991 | MICHAEL PARKS, TIMES STAFF WRITER Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk on Friday demanded a seat for his republic, the base for about half of the Soviet Union's SS-19 intercontinental ballistic missiles, at all future negotiations on nuclear disarmament. Kravchuk, whose proposal would bring the Ukraine into the very exclusive club of the world's nuclear powers, said the Ukraine wants to take part in disarmament negotiations in order to promote the elimination of all nuclear weapons, strategic as well as tactical.

NEWS Using Carrot and Stick, U.S. Presses Ukraine to Disarm November 24, 1992 | STEPHANIE SIMON, TIMES STAFF WRITER The United States has offered to cover the $100-million to $150-million cost of destroying Ukraine's nuclear weapons, but only if the former Soviet republic first ratifies the START treaty, Sen. Sam Nunn said here Monday. NEWS Kravchuk Repeats Vow to Rid Ukraine of A-Weapons February 5, 1992 | TYLER MARSHALL, TIMES STAFF WRITER Making his first foreign visit as head of Europe's second-largest nation, Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk on Tuesday reaffirmed his country's commitment to nuclear disarmament and agreed on specific steps to open land to resettle ethnic Germans driven from the region during the Stalin era. NEWS Ethnic Unrest in the Soviet Union September 4, 1991 Concern over ethnic nationalism continues to run beneath discussions about any new government in the Soviet Union. Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin Tuesday declared that Russia would never dominate a proposed new union of Soviet republics, a concern of smaller republics.

And yet, Yeltsin has sent aides to other republican capitals out of concern for minority ethnic Russians in the other areas. Here is a roundup of areas where ethnic difficulties continue: GEORGIA. Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk Facts LINK / CITE ADD TO WORD LIST Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk Facts Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk (born 1934) was president of the Ukraine (1991-1994), the first ever to be elected by direct popular vote and the first president of this newly independent country. Economic pressures led to his defeat in the presidential election of 1994. Leonid Kravchuk was born January 10, 1934, in the village of Velykyi Zhytyn, in the Rivne district into a peasant family. His father died at the front in 1944, during World War II. His mother worked on a collective farm until retirement. Kravchuk completed the Rivne Cooperative Technical School and in 1958 graduated with a diploma from the economics department of Kiev State University.

From 1958 to 1960 he taught courses in political economy at the Chernivtsi Financial Technical School. Resigns From Communist Party In 1960 he began his career in the Communist Party of Ukraine, and for 30 years he climbed the party ladder. His first step was appointment as a lecturer in the political education branch of the Chernivtsi Party organization. He later became head of its Department of Agitation and Propaganda. The party organization sent him to study at the Academy of Social Sciences of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in Moscow, and in 1970 he obtained the degree of candidate of sciences. From 1970 to 1989 he worked in Kiev in the apparatus of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, first as head of the sector for the continuing education of party cadres and later as head of the Department of Agitation and Propaganda.

From 1989 to 1990 he served as secretary responsible for ideology in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, and in June 1990 he was made a member of the Politburo and briefly served as second secretary of the organization. In August 1991, in reaction to the (failed) coup in Moscow, Leonid Kravchuk resigned from Communist Party membership. When the process of perestroika began in the U.S.S.R., Leonid Kravchuk occupied an important post in the ideological section of the party. During this period he became famous for his participation in open debates with the leading opposition organization-the People's Movement (widely known as Rukh). Due to this popularity and his active support of the democratization of Ukrainian society, he was regarded as a person representing new political thinking. In 1989 he was elected a member of the Supreme Rada of Ukraine (the parliament) from the electoral district of lampilsk, Vinnytsia region. In 1989-1990 Leonid Kravchuk's main activity concentrated on the problem of reforming the Communist Party.

He argued the necessity to create an independent Ukrainian party organization and to transform it into a democratic political party of the parliamentary type. His views did not receive the support of the dominant Communist leadership. Of his transformation from Communist to nationalist in 1989, Kravchuk has said," I have not come from being a Communist to being a nationalist, but to be more precise, from being a Communist to a democrat. I express the interests of not only Ukrainians but also the interests of Russians, of Jews, of Bulgarians, Hungarians and Rumanians who live in the land of the Ukraine." Ensures Peaceful Transition It was through his activities in Ukraine's Parliament that Leonid Kravchuk emerged as the country's most prominent politician. In July 1990 he was elected as head (speaker) of the Supreme Rada. In that position he demonstrated his skills as a politician of compromise. From 1990 to 1991 Ukraine experienced political and social turmoil: there were numerous strikes and demonstrations accompanying popular demands for democratization and independence. Kravchuk's ability to forge a consensus was instrumental in ensuring a peaceful transition.

Ukraine proclaimed independence, the Communist Party of Ukraine was outlawed, and the first measures aimed at democratization and economic reform were made while Kravchuk headed parliament. During the presidential elections of December 1, 1991, in which six candidates ran for office, moderation and the ability to compromise were important factors contributing to Leonid Kravchuk's decisive victory. He obtained 61.6 percent of votes, which represented some 20 million voters (out of a total population of 52 million). In his inaugural address to parliament on Dec. 5, 1991, Kravchuk declared, "Only a free citizenry can create a free state." The record of Kravchuk's years as president was a mixed one. He proved to be best when confronting the difficult task of state-building. Within a matter of months Ukraine gained international recognition, and all the major institutions of a modern state were created (from an independent armed force to a central bank). He forged ties with other eastern European states and resisted Russia's claims on the Crimea. However, he proved unable to deal with the serious economic and social difficulties, and his administration's record on economic reform in particular was found wanting.

By the end of 1993 his popular rating was at its lowest, and Ukraine's Parliament, at the same time as setting new legislative elections for April 1994, set new presidential elections for July 26, 1994. Leonid Kravchuk stood for reelection, but was defeated by Leonid Kuchma (born 1939), a former manufacturer of missiles. Despite his defeat for reelection, Leonid Kravchuk's place in history is secure: he played a decisive role in Ukraine's road to independence and democratic reform. He and his wife, Antonina, a professor of economics at Taras Shevchenko State University in Kiev, have one son. Further Reading on Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk Foreign Policy (Fall 1995) examines Ukraine's economic stability in "Eurasia Letter: Ukraine's Turnaround" by Anders Aslund. The Ukrainian Weekly (Feb. 12, 1995) looks at Kravchuk post-presidency in "Elder Statesman Leonid Kravchuk addresses Ukrainian Canadians."

Question: Leonid Kravchuk became the first President of which former Soviet state in 1991?
Answer: UKRAINE